Robert E. Lavender (July 19, 1926 – March 23, 2020) was an American judge who served as Justice of the

Oklahoma Supreme Court The Supreme Court of Oklahoma is a court of appeal for non-criminal cases, one of the two highest judicial bodies in the U.S. state of Oklahoma, and leads the judiciary of Oklahoma, the judicial branch of the government of Oklahoma.

, serving from 1965 until 2007. He served as the Court's Chief Justice from 1979 to 1981. Oklahoma Supreme Court Biography
/ref> Lavender died on March 23, 2020, at the age of 93.

Early life and education

Robert E. Lavender was born in

Muskogee, Oklahoma Muskogee () is the thirteenth-largest city in Oklahoma and the county seat of Muskogee County. Home to Bacone College, it lies approximately southeast of Tulsa. The population of the city was 36,878 as of the 2020 census, a 6.0 percent decrease ...

, and grew up first in

Tulsa Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the U.S. state, state of Oklahoma and List of United States cities by population, 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. ...

and then on a farm in Catoosa, outside of Tulsa, where he graduated from high school in 1944. Immediately enlisting in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

, he spent the final year of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, on reserve duty in the South Pacific. In 1953, he earned a

Bachelor of Laws Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

from the

University of Tulsa College of Law The University of Tulsa College of Law is the law school of the private University of Tulsa in Tulsa, Oklahoma. For 2021, ''U.S. News & World Report'' ranked the University of Tulsa College of Law at No. 111 among all law schools in the United S ...

Career in law

While earning his law degree, Lavender worked as an assistant court clerk in the Tulsa County District and Common Pleas courts. Following graduation from law school, he became Assistant City Attorney in Tulsa, before joining a private practice in Claremore, Oklahoma. Lavender was still in private practice when Governor

Henry Bellmon Henry Louis Bellmon (September 3, 1921 – September 29, 2009) was an American Republican politician from the U.S. State of Oklahoma. A member of the Oklahoma Legislature, he went on to become both the 18th and 23rd governor of Oklahoma, mai ...

appointed him to fill a vacancy on the Oklahoma Supreme Court on June 24, 1965, representing the 1st District. The vacancy was caused by the impeachment of Justice Napoleon B. Johnson.Marks, Kim Alice. "10 state judges up for retention on Nov. 6 ballot." ''Tulsa World''. September 27, 1990.
Accessed May 25, 2019. The next year, he was elected to hold that same seat for a full six-year term, ending in 1972, and he was subsequently retained in 1972, 1978, 1984, 1990, 1996, and 2002. While on the Supreme Court, Lavender authored an opinion abrogating state sovereign immunity (''Vanderpool v. State'', 1983). He retired from the Oklahoma Supreme Court, effective August 1, 2007. A retirement ceremony was held in his office on July 23, 2007, where his family, friends, and present and former Supreme Court colleagues honored him for his 42 years of service on the court, longer than any other justice in the history of the Oklahoma Supreme Court. Then-Governor

Brad Henry Charles Bradford Henry (born July 10, 1963) is an American lawyer and politician who was the 26th governor of Oklahoma from 2003 to 2011. A member of the Democratic Party, he was elected governor in 2002. Henry won re-election for a second term ...

read a quote that Lavender had made when he first took office. "My sole ambition as a member of this court is to study the cases, work hard, and so conduct my personal life as to inspire confidence and earn the trust of the people in this court as an institution. It is my opinion that a strong and independent judiciary composed of men of unimpeachable integrity is an absolute essential to the continuation of our society.”Greiner, John, "Supreme Court justice retires after 42 years. ''NewsOK'' July 25, 2007.
Accessed May 24, 2018. Governor Henry subsequently appointed John F. Reif to succeed Justice Lavender.

Personal life

Lavender married Maxine Knight on December 22, 1945. The couple had met while both were attending Catoosa High School. Lavender's wife worked as a child development specialist and as a consultant for blind and visually-impaired students in nearby school districts. They were married until her death on March 5, 2010."Maxine Lavender Obituary". Legacy.com from ''Norman Transcript''. March 8/9, 2010.
Accessed December 31, 2016

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lavender, Robert E. 1926 births 2020 deaths Justices of the Oklahoma Supreme Court United States Navy personnel of World War II University of Tulsa alumni Politicians from Muskogee, Oklahoma Politicians from Tulsa, Oklahoma Lawyers from Tulsa, Oklahoma Military personnel from Oklahoma University of Central Oklahoma alumni University of Tulsa College of Law alumni 20th-century American judges 21st-century American judges